People in Cleveland love to say, "At least we're not Detroit." In the Motor City it's more like, "Could be worse; could be Cleveland."

And so it goes for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, the only non-expansion NFL teams that haven't played in the Super Bowl. Jacksonville (1993) and Houston (2002) haven't suffered quite as long.

Since Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999, the Browns and Lions are tied with the league's worst winning percentage (.321). Neither team has a playoff win in that stretch, but either the Browns or Lions — and sometimes both — have had a top-five pick in 14 of the last 16 NFL Drafts.

It's the same story in 2014. Cleveland picks No. 4, and Detroit is at No. 10. Can these starving franchises learn from past mistakes? Which franchise has it better (or worse)? Let's revisit those last 16 years of first-round picks before looking at the future:

Who loses? Cleveland. Both receivers dropped too many passes and never developed into No. 1 receivers, but Edwards angered Browns fans with his dismissive behavior off the field (and, perhaps, his ties to the University of Michigan).

Detroit: The Lions have three Pro Bowlers in the same stretch, including Johnson, Williams and Ndamukong Suh (No. 2, 2010).
Who loses? Detroit. Johnson and Suh are the only Pro Bowlers on a roster loaded with talent that still hasn't achieved its full potential.

Detroit: Former GM Matt Millen drafted a wide receiver in the first round from 2003-05, a run that included Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams (No. 10, 2005).
Who loses? Cleveland. The Browns haven't found the right quarterback yet. At least Millen drafted Johnson in 2007.

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Draft-Day Pariah

Cleveland: Take your pick between Winslow and William Green (No. 16, 2002), whose career was sidetracked in 2003 when he was stabbed by his girlfriend while serving a four-game suspension.

Detroit: Joey Harrington (No. 3, 2002) finished 18-40 as a starter for the Lions from 2002-05.

Who loses? Lions. Harrington was stuck in an impossible situation with the expectation of being a franchise quarterback on a poor team, but he also inherited the nickname "Champagne Joey."

Who loses? TBD. Both players should make improvements in Year 2, but Ansah has the edge for now.

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This Year's Pick

Cleveland: The Browns might just go back to the quarterback well one more time. If so, it's OK to take a gamble on Texas A&M playmaker Johnny Manziel.
Detroit: Go figure, but the Lions are high on another receiver in Clemson's Sammy Watkins. Trading down and picking Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard might be the smarter move.

Who loses? The team that is picking in the Top 10 again in 2015.

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Verdict

It's not all gloom and doom. Both teams have gotten their act together — at least on draft day.

The Browns have landed Mack, Haden and Phil Taylor (No. 21, 2011), and they have an extra-first round pick this year (No. 26) after trading Trent Richardson (No. 3, 2012) to Indianapolis last season.